Thursday, February 16, 2012

Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains - except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost.

So, I FINALLY finished Mockingjay. It took me forever, it seems. And I finally realized why it actually took so long: Mockingjay is nothing like The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. There is such a different story structure to Mockingjay, and I truthfully think it caught me off guard. So, what's it about, besides the blurb from the flap? The story is very in depth, and in fact, this is probably the only similarity Mockingjay holds to the first two books. Whereas in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the events are leading to what we know the series to be about (the Games), Mockingjay breaks all the rules and shows what happens after the Games; what happens when a country finally says no more.

Rebellion unfolds. So many people die. Not in the unforgiving and surprising way as, say, George R.R. Martin chooses, but more elegantly. Relationships formed for the characters during these books and despite all my attempts to try to see through it all, to see who might not survive, I failed. I didn't see most of these casualties coming.

The reason for me giving Mockingjay a 4 out of 5 was because, while it seemed to progress toward the big finale, it also felt like it dragged on a bit. I do understand a lot of preparation was needed by Collins to get her characters to this point where the Capitol would fall, but I can't help but think that some things could have been left unsaid, such as few of the propos that displayed Katniss and the rebels taking apart a few of the districts where the Capitol had latched their hooks. All that aside, I was pleased with the conclusion of the series. I still cannot believe it took me so long to read The Hunger Games trilogy, but it couldn't have come at a better time (what with the film debut a little over a month away).

2 comments:

I have to agree with you that Mocking Jay dragged a lot more than Catching Fire and Hunger Games. I think it dragged because Katniss was not, like in other books, at the center of what was going on. Katniss also became an unreliable narrator. And because she was no longer at the center of the action, and unreliable, we have a great deal of the story line told to us via other characters.

I believe this as a philosophy, from a man who saw war and setback, and conquered all to bring us the greatest fantasy series that has ever been published. Leave your little comment and I'll get back to you.